In the battleground of American political power, candidates for office tend to use every weapon at their disposal to be heard above the din.

Now, a U.S. Marine who helped lead the initial charge into Iraq to oust Saddam Hussein is taking that approach literally by brandishing his M-16 assault rifle in some eye-catching campaign fundraising ads.

"I'm taking full credit for that," says 28-year old Jesse Kelly of Tucson, Ariz., a Republican seeking to boot Democrat Gabrielle Giffords from the U.S. House of Representatives. "If you're not going to get anyone's attention, you might as well not waste your time or money."

Kelly, who is married and has a 9-month-old son, is splashing his spots across the Internet on high-profile sites such as the Drudge Report, and offering no apologies about the weapon imagery.

"I think people understand fully well that I'm serving my country," he said. "I'm in Iraq at war for my nation. I'm not posing in my bedroom with a gun." [READ ENTIRE STORY]